Greening Education Partnership

The Greening Education Partnership (GEP) is a global initiative that takes a whole-of-system approach to support countries to tackle climate crisis by harnessing the critical role of education. As a collaborative platform for governments and other stakeholders including inter-governmental organizations, civil society, youth, academia, and private sector, Greening Education Partnership aims to deliver strong, coordinated and comprehensive action that will prepare every learner to acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to tackle climate change and to promote sustainable development.

Global Education Partnership members: Who we are and how we work

Did you know?

The earth’s average global temperature

has risen by 1°c with most of the warming occurring in the past 35 years

Around half of the 100 countries reviewed

had no mention of climate change in their national curriculum, UNESCO findings reveal

While 95% of surveyed primary and secondary teachers

felt that teaching climate change is important, less than 30% expressed a readiness to teach it.

70% of young people cannot explain climate change

or can only explain its broad principles or do not know anything about it.

Greening education

Education enables learners of all ages with the agency to address interconnected global challenges including climate change, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable use of resources, and inequality. It empowers them to make informed decisions and take action to change society and care for the planet. Drawing upon ESD’s holistic approach to learning, the Greening Education Partnership aims to inspire action from countries to empower learners with the skills required for inclusive and sustainable economic development within the context of the transition toward digital and green economies.

The practices monitored by members of the Partnership adopt an interdisciplinary approach across all subjects, not only looking at the scientific facts of climate change, but addressing the social economic and behavioural facets of climate justice, eco-anxiety, action-based solutions and ensuring that it is contextualized to learners’ real-life experience and aspirations.

Four pillars of transformative education

The Greening Education Partnership is structured around four key pillars of transformative education

Greening schools

Greening schools for climate action and sustainability

Greening every curriculum

Guidance to teach and learn for climate action

Greening teacher training and education system capacities

Supporting Member States in establishing professional teaching standards that include climate change

Greening communities

Develop lifelong learning in communities to enhance climate resilience at the local level

Climate change education

Climate change education at COP29

Interested in joining the Partnership?

Here is how you can commit

Member States and key stakeholder organizations can express their interest and willingness to join the Partnership through the expression of interest form linked below. Further details will be made available in due course for those who have shown interest.

For questions, please reach out to the Secretariat of the Greening Education Partnership at gep(a)unesco.org.